Once Upon a Crime (The Sisters Grimm, Book 4)
Michael Buckley
For my mother, Wilma Cuvelier
Chapter 1
he explosion shook Sabrina Grimm so hard she swore she felt her brain do a somersault inside her skull. As she struggled to get her bearings, a noxious, black smoke choked her, burning her eyes. Could she escape? No, she was at the mercy of the cold, soulless machine otherwise known as the family car.
"Isn't anyone worried that this hunk of junk might kill us?" she cried, but no one heard her over the chaos.
As usual, Sabrina was the only person in her family who noticed anything was wrong. Murder plots, horrifying monsters, the shaking, jostling, rattling death trap the Grimms called transportation: Sabrina had her eyes wide open to trouble.
She was sure if she didn't stay on her toes her entire family would be dead by nightfall. They were lucky to have her.
Her grandmother, a kind, sweet old lady, was in the front seat, buried in the book she had been reading for the last two hours. Next to her was the old woman's constant companion, a skinny, grouchy old man named Mr. Canis, who drove the family everywhere. Sharing the backseat with Sabrina was a portly, pink-skinned fellow named Mr. Hamstead, and nestled between them was Daphne, Sabrina's seven-year-old sister, who had been slumbering peacefully the entire ride, drooling like a faucet onto Sabrina's coat sleeve. Sabrina gently nudged her sister toward Mr. Hamstead. He grimaced when he noticed the drool and shot Sabrina a look that said,
Thanks for nothing.
Sabrina pretended not to notice and leaned forward to get her grandmother's attention. Granny Relda set her book down in her lap and turned to Sabrina with smiling eyes. The old woman's face was etched in wrinkles, but her pink cheeks and button nose gave her a youthful appearance. She always wore colorful dresses and matching hats with a sunflower applique in the center. Today she was in purple.
"Where are we?" Sabrina shouted.
Her grandmother cupped a hand to her ear to let Sabrina know she hadn't heard the question over the car's terrific racket.
"Are we getting close to Faerie yet?"
"Oh, I love chili, but I'm afraid it doesn't love me," Granny shouted back.
"No, not chili! Faerie!" Sabrina cried. "Are we getting close?"
"Why no, I've never kissed a monkey. What a weird question."
Sabrina was about to throw up her hands in defeat when Mr. Canis turned to her. "We are not far," he barked and turned his gaze back to the road. The old man had better hearing than anyone.
Sabrina sighed with relief. All of the rumbling and sputtering would soon be over, and it would all have been worth it to help Puck. She looked at the shivering boy huddled next to her grandmother. His blond hair was matted to his head and his face was drenched in sweat. Sabrina felt a pang of guilt in her belly. If it weren't for her they wouldn't be on this trip at all.
She sat back in her seat as the car came to a stop at a crossroads. She looked out the window. To the left was farmland as far as she could see. To the right a dusty country road leading to a tiny, distant house. Behind her was Ferryport Landing, her new hometown, and ahead… she wasn't sure. A place called Faerie, her grandmother had said. They were taking Puck home.
As the car rolled forward, Sabrina lost herself in memories. It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had had a home. Once she'd been a normal kid living on the Upper East Side of New York City, with a mom and a dad, a baby sister, and an apartment near the park. Life had been simple and easy and ordinary. Then one day her parents, Henry and Veronica, disappeared. The police looked for them but all they found was their abandoned car and a single clue--a red handprint left on the dashboard.
With no one to take care of the girls, Sabrina and Daphne were dumped into an orphanage and assigned to Minerva Smirt, an ill-tempered caseworker who hated children. She'd taken a special dislike to the Grimm sisters and for almost a year and a half had stuck them with foster families who used and abused them. These so-called loving caregivers forced the girls to be their personal maids, pool cleaners, and ditch diggers. More often than not, the families were in it for the state check. Some were just plain crazy.